All News

Saturday, December 7, 2002 11:00 a.m. Trinity Repertory Company 201 Washington Street Providence, Rhode Island $21 per ticket; $10 for children under 12

Friday, December 6, 2002 At the home of Lew '58 and Willy Sandler 7156 Helsem Bend Dallas, Texas 75230 *Holiday casual dress*

$15 per person (cost includes one complimentary beer or wine drink ticket and hors d'oeuvres) Spouses and guests are welcome *Holiday casual dress* Limited tickets available. Pre-payment and registration required. Reserve your ticket(s) today by calling the Office of Alumni Programs toll-free at 866.729.0314 or emailing Jackie Thompson at jdthomps@hamilton.edu. Location: Boston, MA; Limbo Restaurant

Associate Professor of History Shoshana Keller delivered two talks at Colgate University, courtesy of the Colgate Russian and Asian Studies programs. The first was called "The Silk Roads: Binding Asia, Europe and Islamic Lands in Ancient Times." The second was "Central Asian Islam from Stalin to Karimov: What is the U.S. Getting Into?" In November she attended the national convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies in Pittsburgh. Keller presented a paper titled "Milliilashtirish Creating a Nation." She also chaired a panel on "War's Impact on Inter-Ethnic Relations in Soviet Lands, 1939-1945: Propaganda and Reality."

Russell Blackwood, the John Stuart Kennedy Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and a long-time trustee of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies, has been appointed by the institute to conduct a national undergraduate essay contest in Pakistan Studies. Contest winners will receive a financial prize and publication of abstracts of their papers in Pakistan Studies News.

Assistant Professor of Women's Studies Vivyan Adair, who is director of the ACCESS Project at Hamilton College, was a panelist at a higher education and welfare reform conference in New York City on Nov. 18. The conference, "Bridging the Gap: Higher Education and Career-Centered Welfare Reform," was sponsored by Metropolitan College of New York, Medgar Evans College (CUNY), National Urban League, National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the College Board. Adair participated in a panel, "Programs and Models That Work," where she described the ACCESS Project. ACCESS is a demonstration educational, social service and career program that assists profoundly low-income parents in Central New York in their efforts to move from welfare and low-wage work to meaningful and secure career employment through higher education. The program provides a fully supported introduction to a liberal arts education coupled with social services, family and career support.

Associate Professor of Economics and Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center Director Paul Hagstrom presented a preliminary report on his research on food stamp participation by refugees and immigrants at the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Small Grants Conference at the Economic Research Service in Washington D.C. in October.

Professor of French John O'Neal is the author of a new book, Changing Minds, The Shifting Perception of Culture in Eighteenth Century France, published by University of Delaware Press. According to the publisher's Web site, "In this study of the epistemological underpinnings of cultural changes in the French Enlightenment, O’Neal shows how many of the cultural changes brought about by eighteenth-century French thinkers arise from the different forms of knowledge and experiences they pursued. They derived these different forms of knowledge and experience from a new view of sensibility, which in turn depended on humans’ perceived proximity to or distance from nature and the categories normally associated with this concept."

A variety of classical music performances will take place this weekend, Nov. 22-24, in Wellin Hall. The String and Woodwind Chamber Ensembles and the Brass Ensemble will perform on Friday, Nov. 22, at 8 p.m. Music by P.D.Q. Bach, Haydn, Schubert and more. David Steadman '03 will conduct a choral program for his senior project in music Saturday, Nov. 23, at 8 p.m. A faculty recital featuring Sara Mastrangelo, violin, and Sar-Shalom Strong, piano, playing the music of Beethoven, Brahms and Fauré, will take place on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. All are free and open to the public.

According to a Time magazine article (Nov. 25) China's new president Hu Jianto may be years away from becoming China's true leader. Former president Jiang Zemin, when he took control of the government 13 years ago, at least had behind-the-scenes backing from his predecessor, Deng Xiaoping. Hu may not be able to count on Jiang's support, portending political infighting that will distract the country's leaders from China's pressing social and economic challenges, which include rising unemployment and epidemic corruption. "Jiang has made a terrible mistake" by undermining Hu and hanging on to power, said Cheng Li, a professor and China expert at Hamilton College.